Nearly 390 South Koreans traveled to the Diamond Mountain resort in North Korea for the state-organized event, bringing presents and cash to about 140 family members who met them there.

A second round of reunions will be held from Saturday until Monday, when about 250 people living in South Korea will reunite with 190 relatives living in North Korea at the same resort, according to the South's Unification Ministry.

The reunions, as always, run high with emotion — and a healthy dose of media frenzy. Journalists crowded around South Korean Lee Soon-kyu, 85, as she met with her husband in North Korea, Oh Se In, 83. As camera flashes bathed them in glaring white light, she cocked her head and gazed at Oh.

Elsewhere in the crowd, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons and cousins were catching up, attempting to make up for decades apart with a few precious days together. Many wept, overcome by the reality of finally being back together.

The war separated millions of Korean families for a variety of reasons. Ordinary citizens are banned from visiting relatives on the other side of the border and even from exchanging letters, phone calls and emails without permission from the government.

Sin Gwi Jong of North Korea (R), 85, meets with his sister Sin Pal-rye of South Korea, 82, on Oct. 20, 2015.

Image: Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap /Associated Press

The reunions are the first since February 2014, and serve as a reminder that the Korean Peninsula is still in a state of war following the 1950-53 fighting that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Reunions between the separated families have been held sporadically since 1988.

For many, this will be their one and only chance to see their families. After decades spent apart, the elderly participants invited to the reunion have a precious three days to spend together before the South Koreans return home.

None of the participants invited into the reclusive resort in North Korea have ever had a second reunion with their families.

Lee Jeong-suk of South Korea (R), 68, with her father Ri Hung Jong of North Korea, 88, on Oct. 20, 2015.

Image: Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap /Associated Press

Photos and videos of the reunions are broadcast throughout South Korea and make front-page news there, but North Korea's government-run news outlet KCNA had not published any reports hours after the reunions began on Tuesday.

Rim Ri Kyu, the widow of famous North Korean mathematician Jo Ju Kyong, looked calm as she met with her South Korean brother and other relatives living in South Korea. She introduced her son to the visitors, who burst into laughter after Jo Ju-chan, the South Korean brother of Rim's late husband, joked that her son resembled him.

Min Ho-shik of South Korea, 84 (center) with Min Un Sik of North Korea (R), during the reunion on Oct. 20, 2015.

Image: Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap /Associated Press

South Korean Lee Ok-yeon, 88, will reunite with her husband for the first time in 65 years. She lives in the same house that her husband, also now 88, built — the house the couple shared as newlyweds. Her grandson, Chae Jeong-jae, told South Korean reporters that Lee had "asked whether it was a dream or a reality" when she was told she would attend the reunions.

Choi Hyeong-jin, 95, reunites this week with his youngest daughter, who was 2 when he left and is now 64. "I am not sure if I will even be able to recognize her. I don't even remember how she looked as a baby," Choi said.

North and South Korean family members look at their memorial picture on Oct. 20, 2015.

Image: Kim Do-hoon/Yonhap/Associated Press

The two countries agreed in August to resume the reunification program amid increased tensions between the two countries this year.

South Korea uses a randomized lottery system to select participants for the reunion, while North Korea reportedly chooses based on loyalty to its authoritarian leadership.

Most who apply for the reunions are elderly and desperate to see their loved ones before they pass away. Nearly half of the 130,410 South Koreans who have applied to attend a reunion have died.

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